Caption: Ocotillo. View of an ocotillo or vine cactus (Fouquieria splendens). This deciduous, thorny shrub grows in the deserts of the southern United States. They can grow to be 4. 5 metres high and can survive at temperatures as low as 5 degrees celsius. The ocotillo consists of many tall whip- like canes sprouting from a base. Inhabitants of the southwestern United States often use ocotillo for fencing and screening. The plant can be woven into a fence with wire and then planted to make a living ocotillo fence. Photographed in Organ Pipe National Monument, Arizona, USA.